Richard Allen Davis, seen in court in 1996, kidnapped 12-year-old Polly Klaas from her bedroom at knife point during a slumber party at her Petaluma home in October 1993. Later that night, Sonoma County sheriff's deputies, unaware Davis was a parole violator or that police had reported the kidnapping, let him go after finding his car stuck in a ditch on a private road near Petaluma. In a confession to police, Davis said he had untied Polly and put her on an embankment a short distance away before the deputies arrived and freed his car. After they let him go, he said, he concluded he had to kill the girl to avoid being sent back to prison, and strangled her with a knotted cloth. less

Richard Allen Davis, seen in court in 1996, kidnapped 12-year-old Polly Klaas from her bedroom at knife point during a slumber party at her Petaluma home in October 1993. Later that night, Sonoma County ... more

Photo: Associated Press

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Convicted murderer Scott Peterson is seen being escorted by two San Mateo County sheriff's deputies on March 17, 2005, in Redwood City, California. Peterson was transported to Death Row at San Quentin Prison after being sentenced to death for the murder or his wife, Laci, and their unborn son. Laci Peterson of Modesto was last seen on Christmas Eve 2002. less

Convicted murderer Scott Peterson is seen being escorted by two San Mateo County sheriff's deputies on March 17, 2005, in Redwood City, California. Peterson was transported to Death Row at San Quentin Prison ... more

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

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Ramon Salcido killed his wife, two daughters, three other relatives and his supervisor at a Sonoma County winery during a three-hour rampage in 1989. Salcido fled to his hometown of Los Mochis, Mexico, after the killings, but he was arrested five days later and returned to California where he was later sentenced to death. less

Ramon Salcido killed his wife, two daughters, three other relatives and his supervisor at a Sonoma County winery during a three-hour rampage in 1989. Salcido fled to his hometown of Los Mochis, Mexico, after ... more

Photo: San Francisco Chronicle

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Wesley Shermantine (above) and Loren Herzog, dubbed the "Speed Freak Killers," wantonly murdered many in the rural Central Valley before their arrest in 1999. Shermantine was sentenced to die at San Quentin State Prison. Herzog was released from prison due to a bungled investigation but committed suicide after Shermantine began divulging clues about their crimes. less

Wesley Shermantine (above) and Loren Herzog, dubbed the "Speed Freak Killers," wantonly murdered many in the rural Central Valley before their arrest in 1999. Shermantine was sentenced to die at San Quentin ... more

Photo: Associated Press

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Trailside killer David Joseph Carpenter watched his lawyers during the first day of his Marin County trial in 1985. Over the course of eight months in 1980 and 1981, Carpenter murdered six women and one man along trails in Marin and Santa Cruz counties. Many of the women were raped. An eighth would-be victim survived to identify him. Carpenter is on Death Row at San Quentin State Prison. less

Trailside killer David Joseph Carpenter watched his lawyers during the first day of his Marin County trial in 1985. Over the course of eight months in 1980 and 1981, Carpenter murdered six women and one man ... more

Photo: The Chronicle

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In February 1999, Cary Stayner killed Carole Sund, 42, her 15-year-old daughter and their longtime friend Silvina Pelosso, 16. Five months later, he killed and beheaded 26-year-old Joie Armstrong, a Yosemite nature guide. He was sentenced to death in 2002. less

In February 1999, Cary Stayner killed Carole Sund, 42, her 15-year-old daughter and their longtime friend Silvina Pelosso, 16. Five months later, he killed and beheaded 26-year-old Joie Armstrong, a Yosemite ... more

Photo: AP

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Serial killer Charles Ng sits in a Santa Ana Superior Court on June 30, 1999, after being sentenced to die for 11 murders in Calaveras County in the Sierra foothills in the mid-1980s. He tried to delay sentencing by claiming he was too tired to proceed, and then tried to fire his lawyers. less

Serial killer Charles Ng sits in a Santa Ana Superior Court on June 30, 1999, after being sentenced to die for 11 murders in Calaveras County in the Sierra foothills in the mid-1980s. He tried to delay ... more

Photo: Associated Press

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Justin Alan Helzer was sentenced to death, along with brother Glenn Helzer, on March 11, 2005, by a Contra Costa County jury for killing Ivan Stineman, Annette Stineman, Selina Bishop, Jennifer Villarin, and James Gamble in an extortion and murder scheme. Helzer was pronounced dead at San Quentin State Prison on April 14, 2013, of an apparent suicide. less

Justin Alan Helzer was sentenced to death, along with brother Glenn Helzer, on March 11, 2005, by a Contra Costa County jury for killing Ivan Stineman, Annette Stineman, Selina Bishop, Jennifer Villarin, and ... more

Photo: Associated Press

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Serial killer Joseph Naso was sentenced to death for strangling four Northern California women who were raped and whose bodies were discarded along rural roads in the late 1970s and early 1990s. Naso was dubbed the Alphabet Killer because of a pattern among the victims: Their first and last names started with the same letter. Naso was convicted of killing Roxene Roggasch, 18, in 1977; Carmen Colon, 22, in 1978; Pamela Parsons, 38, in 1993; and Tracy Tafoya, 31, in 1994. less

Serial killer Joseph Naso was sentenced to death for strangling four Northern California women who were raped and whose bodies were discarded along rural roads in the late 1970s and early 1990s. Naso was ... more

Photo: AP

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Darryl Kemp, a serial rapist who escaped one death sentence for murder when capital punishment was declared unconstitutional, was sentenced to death for sexually assaulting and killing Armida Wiltsey at the Lafayette Reservoir in 1978. Kemp had been paroled to Pleasant Hill four months before Wiltsey was slain. His death sentence for killing a nurse in Los Angeles in 1957 had been commuted when the death penalty was declared unconstitutional in 1972. less

Darryl Kemp, a serial rapist who escaped one death sentence for murder when capital punishment was declared unconstitutional, was sentenced to death for sexually assaulting and killing Armida Wiltsey at the ... more

Photo: Courtesy photo

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Edward Wycoff was sentenced to die for killing his sister and her husband in El Ceritto because he thought they were too liberal, were "too easy" on their children and hadn't invited him over for Christmas. During his trial, Wycoff, who chose to represent himself, tried to make a joke during the closing arguments by stabbing a plastic bowl of cereal with a pen, saying, "I'm a cereal killer." He ended up stabbing himself in the hand and bleeding. less

Edward Wycoff was sentenced to die for killing his sister and her husband in El Ceritto because he thought they were too liberal, were "too easy" on their children and hadn't invited him over for Christmas. ... more

Photo: SFC

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Faces of evil: notorious California Death Row inmates

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With Wednesday’s ruling by a federal judge that the death penalty — and the extended period of time it takes to enforce it — is unconstitutional, sentences could change for many of the most notorious inmates on California’s Death Row.

Though the ruling by U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney was limited to a single case, and executions in California have been halted since 2006 after problems with lethal injections, the ruling could prompt an end to capital punishment in the state.

Check out the slide show above of some of California’s most infamous criminals, many of whom have been on Death Row for decades.